South Korea Plans Sanctions Against BitMEX, KuCoin, Others: Report

South Korean financial authorities are planning sanctions against crypto exchanges who are operating illegally in the country, business newspaper Hankyung reported on Friday.

The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) classified a number of exchanges who are not registered as Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) as targets for sanctions, according to the report.

The exchanges targeted – BitMEX, KuCoin, CoinW, Bitunix and KCEX – have been found to be operating Korean-language websites without reporting to FIU. For that reason, they are classed as illegal businesses, as per the country’s regulations.

“We are currently reviewing blocking access to unreported overseas exchanges that are providing services to domestic investors through consultation with the Korea Communications Standards Commission,” an FIU official said, accordinh to the report.

“We are organizing damage cases and related data to strengthen communication between authorities, and we expect to see tangible measures taken within this year.”

BitMEX, KuCoin and CoinW did not respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.

Last month, South Korean crypto exchange Upbit was prohibited from allowing new customers to transfer assets to its platform for three months due to non-compliance with its obligations as a regulated provider.